1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for starting an engine and to a control method for starting an engine.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-104111, filed Apr. 8, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
When starting an engine such as, for example, an outboard motor, an ignition device is operated using power from a battery so as to start the engine. When the engine has started, power is generated by an AC generator and this generated power is stored in a battery. A recoil starter apparatus is additionally provided in the engine, and when the battery is at low capacity, it is possible to start the engine manually using this recoil starter apparatus.
As electrical equipment circuits for an engine such as the aforementioned outboard motor, an electrical equipment circuit has been disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 11-37023) that is provided with a charging circuit in which a rectifier and a voltage regulator are connected to the AC generator that is connected to the battery, a power circuit for electrical equipment of an engine that is connected to the charging circuit and that includes an ignition circuit, and an accessory circuit that is connected to a circuit for accessories on the boat body side.
However, in the aforementioned conventional engine electrical equipment circuit, because power is supplied to both the engine electrical equipment power circuit and the accessory circuit when the engine is started, when the engine is cold or when the battery is at low capacity such as when the remaining capacity is low, if sufficient power is not supplied to the ignition circuit, a problem arises in that the engine startability is reduced.
In particular, if the engine in question is an outboard motor that is additionally provided with a recoil starter apparatus, because it is necessary to start the engine using the generated power of the AC generator inside the limited time that the wire of the recoil starter apparatus is being pulled for, it is necessary to enlarge the capacity of the AC generator, and the problem arises that the load of the recoil starter manual starting operation is increased so that the marketability of the recoil starter is reduced.
Moreover, in a type of engine that is provided with a fuel injection apparatus, due to the relationship in which fuel is supplied to an injector by a fuel pump and fuel injection is performed by the driving of the injector, a great deal of power is required by the engine startup. As a result, the above described problem is a substantial obstacle.
In view of these circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an engine starting control apparatus and starting control method that improves startability and enables an engine to be started reliably.